The bonuses of being a former time agent
by The Physicist
Summary: Nick Fury isn't so keen on the time vortex manipulator being in anyone's hands but his own. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants it, Jack Harkness has it, and the Avengers are tasked with taking him down. Steve's interest in the mission is personal though. (Steve/Jack) Message me if you want to know warnings etc.


"We're requesting your aid to take down Captain Jack Harkness." Director Nick Fury's face loomed above them on a large wall-mounted screen. "We need you to retrieve a very dangerous piece of 51st century tech that has found its way into our century and into his possession. It's without doubt the most advanced piece of technology on our planet. Whoever has it can manipulate time and space itself."

Steve's heart hammered against his ribcage. It could be another Jack Harkness. Even as he told himself that though, he knew, he just _knew_, that it was his Jack Harkness Fury was talking about. He balled his hands into fists under the conference table he was sitting at in Stark Tower along with Tony, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor.

Tony let out a low whistle. "You want us to go up against someone who has power over time and space. I mean, hey," he said and threw his hands up, "I'll take it as a compliment that you think we can handle this, we're the best after all, but—"

"Thankfully, no one is currently able to use it, since it appears to be in need of repair," Fury interrupted him. "Time is running out. We need to find it before it's repaired and before HYDRA get their hands on it — which they are very close to doing. If they get hold of it, well... changing the outcome of the Second World War will be top of their list, but they could do so much more."

The Avengers had kept in contact with one another after the battle of New York. Well, sort of. They'd only recently heard from Thor again, after the incident in Greenwich. Looking around the table, making eye contact with each of them in turn, Steve gauged that this was a mission they were all on board with.

"Are you in?" Fury asked.

Steve didn't see that he had much choice. He might not like the world he lived in now, but it would be worse to wake up tomorrow and find the world run by the Nazis. And he needed to know about Jack.

He nodded. "We're in, sir."

"So how come S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't able to pull this one off though? Isn't this what you spies specialize in?" Tony asked gleefully.

Fury chose to ignore Tony and fixed his eyes on Steve instead. "Are you familiar with Captain Harkness?"

Steve realized his initial shock at hearing Jack's name must have shown on his face. "Yes, sir," he replied, making sure to keep his voice steady and firm.

"Good. Because we're not." Before Tony could interrupt him, Fury continued. "Have you tried to access his file?"

"Yes," Steve replied, leaning forward in his chair. "I put in a request to see it."

Fury raised his eyebrows, feigning curiosity. Maybe he'd known about the request already. "And...?"

"I was told there was no file, sir. I couldn't find records on him anywhere. As if he never existed."

Fury nodded. "A few years back we were hacked and infiltrated. Every piece of information on Harkness was destroyed. Nothing left on our computers, nothing left in our paper files. People who knew about him died under mysterious circumstances."

Tony barked out a laugh. "Oh, this is too funny. S.H.I.E.L.D. have really screwed up this time. So you know nothing about him?"

"There are some things we know," Fury said, his eyes slightly narrowed. "The man's something like Wolverine. Can't be killed. He's not a mutant though, or some lab experiment—"

Steve felt his neck flushing hot.

"—all the evidence points toward alien involvement. He doesn't have any other powers though."

"That you know of," Clint cut in.

"Cap?" Tony asked.

Steve shook his head. "I don't know of any special powers."

"Given enough time S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle this situation," Fury said, "but we can't risk the device being repaired. The clock is ticking."

"I take it you have tried reasoning with this Captain Harkness?" Thor asked.

Fury's face was an unreadable mask. "He was not cooperative."

"Send us all the info you've got. The Avengers'll sort it out for you," Tony said sweetly.

The screen went blank as Fury cut the connection. Tony had that effect on people.

Tony pulled out his phone. "Hey Pepper, you know the launch event I was meant to be hosting tomorrow? And... all those other events and meetings you have me booked in for this week and next? Uh huh. Yeah, well, I know they're important and I know you're going to be really mad at me for this, _but—"_

* * *

Germany, 1944. Captain Harkness had a gash from his hairline to his left eye. There was blood everywhere. Steve dragged the man's limp body to safety; he thought it was just a graze to the head, thought that he could save him... until he saw all the blood on his hands. The front of the other man's shirt was turning dark red.

"Don't die on me!" he shouted, though his skin was already feeling tight across his face. Harkness had been fighting with them for just over a week now, ever since they'd freed him from HYDRA captivity, and in that time the other Captain and he hadn't always seen eye to eye, but Harkness had followed his orders even when he'd disagreed with them. And now Steve's orders had gotten the man killed.

Harkness coughed up blood. Steve used his shirt sleeve to wipe it from his chin.

"Ha, a couple of bullets can't kill me," Harkness said, putting on a pained grin.

And in front of Steve's eyes the cut on his forehead started to knit itself back together. Much as Steve's own flesh did when he was wounded.

* * *

All of France was occupied by the Germans — nowhere was safe, not even this "safe house" Steve and his men had been put up in. Jim and Dugan were trying to catch up on sleep, while James and Jack were playing cards by candlelight in the corner of the large farmhouse basement they'd been put up in. Bucky and Gabe were sitting next to Steve discussing what they'd do once they got back to New York.

"How about you?" Gabe asked, elbowing Steve. "What're your plans for after the war?"

Steve didn't meet his eyes. "I wish I could think about that," he replied. "But the way the war's going? So much hinges on the Eastern Front. We should be working closer with the Soviets."

Harkness entered the basement and sauntered up to them. "Captain Rogers, a word please?"

He'd changed his shirt and cleaned his face and now not a single trace of the bullet wounds he'd suffered earlier that day remained.

Steve smiled at Gabe and Bucky. "Don't have too much fun while I'm gone."

He followed Jack out of the house and into the moonlit forest behind the property.

"Thanks for earlier," Harkness said.

In reply Steve nodded once. "HYDRA do this to you? If HYDRA has a working super soldier serum then I need to know."

"Oh, no. No. This has nothing at all to do with HYDRA!"

Steve felt his shoulder muscles relax. Erskine had only mentioned Schmidt, but Steve realized that he'd likely tested his serum on many American soldiers before he'd fully perfected it.

"Did they run any tests on you?" he pressed.

Harkness shook his head. "They didn't know about my... 'ability'. And I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone."

"I won't," Steve replied quickly. Too quickly, possibly, because now Harkness was grinning.

"Knew I could trust you," the other captain said, slapping Steve on the shoulder. He started to walk past him, back towards the house, but Steve grabbed his wrist.

Harkness stopped and turned back around. "Anything else?"

"I never got to meet anyone else, who... the serum, you know? Well, you heal fast." He let go of the wrist he'd been holding. Suddenly he felt very small in front of the older man's gaze, despite being taller than him. He also wasn't used to having another captain around, even though Harkness had made it clear he'd follow Steve's orders until they got to London — which might not happen for a couple of weeks yet, until they finished their operation.

Something about the way he'd fumbled his words must have moved Harkness, as his face softened. "I can't pretend to know what it's like having to live up to the Captain American image," Harkness said. "But I know about giving orders that you _know _won't put you in the same danger that they'll put your men in, even if you fight shoulder to shoulder with them. I know that guilt."

Steve felt a lump forming in his throat and he tried to swallow past it. Harkness stepped up to him and reached for his hand. Steve let him take it. All the other man did was to squeeze it though, then he let go of it again.

"Thanks," Steve said quietly.

* * *

Fury had transmitted the debriefing packet — now they had to read through everything and come up with a plan. They'd moved to the comfort of Tony's penthouse. Steve had taken a seat on a sofa as far away from Tony's desk as possible. He didn't understand the discussions Tony and Bruce were having there and he needed to concentrate on the intelligence reports in front of him.

"A device that powerful has got to emit some sort of radiation that we can pick up!" Bruce shouted. Steve looked up from the touchpad tablet he'd been given. Bruce shouting was not a good sign.

"Yeah, but maybe by the time it does give off some kind of energy signature it'll be too late," Tony countered, "cause that'll mean it's been repaired!"

"A little calm, please?" Steve suggested.

He stared as his tablet again, but he'd accidentally scrolled too far and lost his place in the text. He closed his eyes and sighed softly.

Natasha sat down next to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Although I don't think I can read through all this," he said waving the tablet at her. "Tony, are you sure you don't have any paper?"

"How barbaric."

That was a 'no'.

"What do you think so far?" Natasha asked.

He placed the tablet to one side. "I wish I could talk to him."

Natasha nodded slowly. "So you think you can reason with him?"

"Maybe."

"Did you know him well?"

A wry smile twisted his lips. How well had he truly known the man he'd let sweep him off his feet? Sure, he'd trusted him with his life in combat. During the war he'd trusted many people with his life, many of whom he'd barely known at all.

"We didn't know each other for long, but we were close. At least I thought we were."

Natasha reached over him to take the tablet. "Hmmm. It's interesting though, isn't it? Your own personal time machine. The things you could do if you had one... ." She didn't wait for him to reply though and squeezed his shoulder before getting up.

Steve could feel Bruce and Tony eyeing him, but he ignored it and closed his eyes, leaning back into the sofa.

Tony, of course, didn't take the hint. "Hey Cap, you got a few minutes?"

"Where're we going?" Steve asked when Tony led him out of his penthouse.

"There's a 24 hour pizza place across the road. You look hungry."

Steve gave him a sidelong glance. "There's still lots of food left in your fridge."

Tony slung an arm around Steve's shoulders. "I think they also do pasta if pizza isn't your thing."

It turned out the pizza place didn't do pasta and only did takeout. They took their pizzas and sat down on a bench in one of the small ornamental gardens around Stark Tower in the mild night air.

"Thanks," Steve said after he'd eaten a couple of slices.

"No problem. I could see you needed a break. And Natasha and Clint've got this when it comes to going through S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence reports. Natasha's very good at noticing things. When Natasha asked you—"

"Never mind what I'd do with the time machine. What would S.H.I.E.L.D. do? They allowed Loki to steal the Tesseract."

"Fair point, grandpa," Tony said. "We don't have to hand it over to Fury right away. We can study it first. Or, we can pulverize it. I'll hand him a little bag of sand if you want."

Steve felt some of the tension in his shoulders loosen and a smile crept across his face. "I want to be there to see the look on his face."

Tony laughed. "So, this Jack Harkness guy. You think that's his angle? Why he wouldn't cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"I want to believe that. No way to know what he thinks of S.H.I.E.L.D. though."

"You told Natasha that you and this guy were close."

Steve ate another slice of pizza.

"Okay, so you don't want to talk about it. I get it. But see, I need to understand why you don't want to talk about it. Cause there's so much written about your time fighting the Nazis and taking on HYDRA, about the people you were friends with during that time... . I mean, it's not that I think the comics in particular are somehow a good representation of what it was actually like, but, you know, just all the stories about Captain America — they've become history in a way. So yeah, when someone you were close to isn't talked about at all, I can't help but wonder why. What kind of person is he? What're his skills? Hey, was he used as some kind of secret super-weapon to take out Hitler or something? Because I read this new book where they claim it wasn't suicide at all, it was—"

"I don't know." Steve held his hands up as if to shield himself from Tony's torrent of words. "I don't know what his role was in the war. I found him chained up in a dark prison cell in a HYDRA base. So we got him back to London." He took a deep breath and locked eyes with Tony. "I'm the only one left alive from my unit. There's no one else alive who remembers them."

"Except for Jack Harkness?" Tony finished for him. "Which is why you tried to look up his file. You hoped that because of his superior healing abilities he'd still be alive. And now you find out he's alive and that Fury wants him taken down. You're afraid that you might have to kill him. Is that what's bothering you?"

Steve choked on the pizza he was eating. "I'm not planning on killing him!" he said once he had his breath back. "I don't like the idea that I might've misjudged him."

* * *

Steve wove his way in and out of the bustle of the Allied HQ in London. Their time in London had been cut short as they were urgently needed for a strike against a HYDRA lab in Belgrade. They were scheduled to leave tomorrow and Jack Harkness wouldn't be coming with them.

"Bucky, you seen Harkness?" Steve asked.

"No," Bucky replied. "I'll ask around. Someone's gotta know where he is."

It wasn't long before Bucky came back, his face unreadable.

"And?" Steve asked.

"I know where he is."

"Go on, then!"

"Not here." Steve furrowed his brow as he was pulled into a quiet corner. Bucky lowered his voice. "Don't mind tellin' you, cause I know you won't cause him trouble. But just, yeah, don't tell anyone else, okay?"

Steve was confused, but nodded anyway. He trusted Bucky wouldn't make him promise that if it was anything serious.

"He's at the Salisbury Arms."

Steve gave Bucky a blank look.

"It's... a queer bar."

"Oh. I see."

"You still going to go find him?"

"Probably. Yeah. There won't be another chance to say goodbye, I guess."

Bucky nodded, a small smile on his face. "If you find him, say goodbye to him from the rest of us too."

"Will do."

As he walked past Trafalgar Square he realized that the walk to the pub was not going to be long enough by far. Across the road was a church and he sat down on the cold stone steps outside it. He took a few deep breaths. His throat felt tight though and his hands jittery. Bucky... Bucky didn't judge queers. Unsure of how long exactly he'd been sitting there he finally got up and continued his walk.

When he entered the pub his eyes found Jack immediately. He was standing at the bar, drink in hand, chatting to one of the barmen.

"Hey, Jack," Steve said. He fumbled with his uniform sleeves as he stepped up next to Jack, who turned around immediately, a broad smile spreading across his face. "Steve! What can I get you to drink?"

It wasn't as if he could get drunk, but he shrugged. "Whatever you're having." The barman handed him a glass of whiskey.

Jack slung an arm around him and guided him to a small table at the back of the pub.

"Cheers!" Jack said and took a large swig of his drink.

Steve lifted his glass for the toast but didn't drink from it. "We're leaving tomorrow for the Balkans. Found out less than an hour ago."

"So you came to find me?"

Steve smiled in reply. And then he did take a sip of whiskey. "Couldn't leave without sayin' goodbye, could I?" he replied eventually. "All the best from Bucky and the others, too."

Jack reached out across the table and placed his hand over one of Steve's. At his touch Steve's heartbeat quickened. He might not be able to get drunk on alcohol anymore, but right now he felt quite keenly that emotions were another matter. He looked around the pub. It was starting to fill up now. Two men were standing close, leaning in to one another's space; he thought they might kiss any minute now.

Steve didn't say anything. But when he pulled his gaze away from the two men and focused on Jack's open face instead, the questions he had must've been visible in his eyes. Jack motioned with his head towards the table, where his hand still covered Steve's. Steve laughed quietly.

"They're not immortal," Jack said and then Steve felt Jack place his other hand on his knee. "And neither are you, Steve Rogers, despite that super solider serum."

Jack didn't need to elaborate, Steve understood. Most soldiers had accepted that they would likely die soon and that gave them a hearty dose of courage — and recklessness — when it came to their private lives. He'd heard that a lot of soldiers on the front line were rather too open about their sweethearts being other soldiers they were fighting alongside. He'd seen some soldiers be indiscreet and looked the other way more than once. When it came to himself though... he realized he was a lot harder on himself than he was on others. He thought of Bucky's easy acceptance and he laced his fingers together with Jack's on the table. That earned him a grin from Jack that went straight to his groin.

They left the pub and went to Jack's sleeping quarters. Jack locked the door and leaned against it, arms hanging loosely at his side. The look of arousal in Jack's eyes made Steve flick his tongue out to wet his lips.

"I've never done anythin' like this before," he murmured as he quickly closed the gap between them.

Jack didn't make a move, though his face was relaxed and soft and his lips slightly parted. Steve leant into him and let his lips brush against Jack's. Their breaths mingled hot between them and the smell of whiskey hit Steve's nostrils. He pushed himself up against Jack so he could feel the heat of his body and then he let his lips slide against the other captain's. Jack's tongue touched his and Steve felt his dick hardening. He rocked his hips forward, felt Jack was equally erect, and moaned quietly into the other man's mouth. Jack raked his fingers through the short hairs on the back of Steve's neck and deepened their kiss. Steve's skin was tingling, his heart felt like it was trying to escape his chest, and his dick was starting to leak. He kept rocking his hips against Jack's, grinding their erections together between all the layers of their clothes while his hands explored the curve of Jack's ass and the width of his shoulders.

They kept grinding their hips together as they worked on unbuttoning each other's uniform jackets and dress shirts. Steve's breathing was getting hoarser by the minute. When Jack finally pulled Steve's undershirt over his shoulders he went straight for his neck and chest, licking and nipping at the exposed skin there. Steve wanted to hear Jack moan, so he reached down between them and stroked Jack roughly through the fabric of his uniform pants.

"Take your pants off," Jack hissed and Steve didn't waste any time obeying that command — he'd been waiting too long already. Not on purpose. Before the serum he hadn't had much luck due to his looks and then afterwards he'd somehow managed to mess up every opportunity that had come his way. Which in fairness hadn't been that many — there'd only been a few occasions when he was performing with the USO girls. And after that, once he had a team to command, he'd found that every time he'd thought about spending his downtime trying to get laid like most other soldiers did, guilt would overcome him and he'd retire early to pour over mission plans and maps to ensure he was as prepared as possible for every mission.

Jack had gone to one of the chest of drawers in the corner of his room. He pulled out a rubber and a pot of vaseline.

"Having second thoughts?" Jack asked.

Steve shook his head. He didn't feel like he was wasting time and he didn't feel guilty either, not tonight. A few quick strides brought him up close to Jack again and he set about divesting Jack of his remaining clothes. When he tugged on the strap of a large leather wrist band Jack pulled his arm away. "I'll keep that on."

Steve's lips quirked up. It struck him as odd, but that's exactly what Jack was: an oddity. He kissed Jack deeply and kneaded his ass and thighs with his hands before picking him up bridal style and carrying him over to the bed.

"I've got to admit," Jack said, "no one's carried me to bed like that in decades."

Before Steve could respond Jack had reached for Steve's dick and was stroking it firmly causing Steve to gasp. He handed Steve the vaseline and rubber.

Steve inspected the rubber and then let out a nervous laugh. "I don't even know which way round... can you put it on?"

In reply Jack caught his lips in a kiss. It wasn't an answer, but it was a reassurance. After that admission Jack took the time to show Steve how to put on the rubber himself. He then kissed Steve deeply, one hand carding through his hair, the other hand slathering vaseline up Steve's length. Jack's breath hitched at the groan that escaped Steve's throat. He turned around and growled for Steve to fuck him. Steve shuddered as his dick slid between the firm ass cheeks. He used his hand to guild himself to Jack's entrance and pushed in slowly. The heat and pressure made him gasp for air and he rocked into it wanting more.

"You can go faster," Jack panted. "I'm not new to this."

Steve gripped Jack's hips and started fucking him faster. He knew the walls weren't soundproof, so he bit down on his lip. Jack was talking, some string of filthy words, but Steve's attention was all on the sweat on his back, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, the tightness of Jack's ass, and the feel of his balls hitting Jack's with every stroke. Below him Jack had taken himself in hand and was pumping himself furiously. Steve could feel his orgasm nearing. On Jack's urging he fucked him even harder and faster. When Steve came, his eyes fluttering shut, his rhythm faltered. He slammed into Jack two more times and he heard Jack moan as he came, too.

Afterwards Steve lay in bed with Jack spooned against his back. His mind was abuzz. For the first time ever he really understood why some people constantly talked about "after the war". He could feel Jack trying to plaster himself closer against his back — no wonder with the chill of the air in the room. Steve rolled out of bed.

"You need to leave so soon?" Jack asked.

Steve wasn't sure. He didn't want to leave, but he felt like he should. For all he knew though this might be their last meeting. Super serum or not, he told himself, the only part of a human that was immortal was his soul — so it was more than likely that one, if not both of them, would die before this war was over.

"Where's your alarm clock?" Steve said finally.

* * *

They'd stayed up most of the night poring over the intel Fury had given them, but they were still no closer to having a plan of action.

"Morning!" Pepper said with an icy smile as she entered Tony's penthouse. An assistant exited the elevator right behind her carrying a large tray of coffees.

Tony jumped up and rushed over to her. "Oh, you're brilliant! You're amazing! You really are the best!"

Pepper walked right past him though. "Thought you might need a caffeine boost. I hear it can help with the whole 'saving the world' thing," she said addressing the other Avengers.

"We don't even need the caffeine to help us with the world," Tony replied, hurrying to stand at her side. "As long as it helps us to locate a certain Captain Jack Harkness, that's all I need from this coffee. Once we find him I'll attend _every_ event. I'll even arrive on time for meetings!"

Tony took a coffee from the tray and then Pepper's assistant started handing out the drinks to the other Avengers.

Pepper raised her eyebrows. She pulled out her phone. "I was actually going to ask you about Jack Harkness. I got a message from him."

Steve got off the couch and went to stand next to her. The others stopped what they were doing to listen closely.

"Here it is," she said showing Steve and Tony the message. "It's signed 'Captain Jack Harkness'. He requested to attend an event tonight that you were meant to be hosting to launch the latest range of Stark Phones." She narrowed her eyes at Tony. "Why does this man have my number and why is he contacting _me_ about attending this event rather than talking to the public relations officer in charge of this event?"

"Because Harkness wants to be sure Tony knows he's attending," Natasha replied. "And he sent it to you to lower the chances of the message being intercepted by HYDRA."

"Well, looks like I'll be attending the launch party after all," Tony beamed. "Pepper, reply to him to let him know you've put him on the guest list."

* * *

Steve was laying out his army dress uniform on the bed in one of Tony's guest rooms when there was a loud knock at the door. It was Thor.

"Could you assist me with this silk ribbon? I'm afraid I have not studied the finer details of Midgardian knot craft."

"I thought Tony called his tailor in to help you with all this?" Steve asked, but he took the tie off Thor and let him into his room.

"Yes, he did."

There was a pause in the conversation as Steve waited for Thor to elaborate until he remembered that Thor didn't like to complain about even the biggest jerks.

Steve laughed. "Yeah, I thought I'd save myself the hassle. That's why I declined Tony's kind offer."

"What will you be wearing?"

"I'll be going in my dress uniform," he motioned toward the bed. "I was about to put it on."

"A wise choice."

Steve helped Thor with his tie. He had to admit, even if Tony's tailor had a disagreeable personality, he'd done a good job in picking out and quickly altering a suit to fit Thor.

"Are you ready for what tonight might bring, my friend?" Thor asked.

"Well, sounds simple enough. Jack's coming to ask Tony for help with the repair of the time machine. We're there to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Outfit now complete Thor examined himself in a full length mirror. "Captain Harkness will seek you out though. He fought at your side during a great war, did he not?"

"Yeah, he did."

"I think he will want to raise a drink with you, to remember fallen comrades."

Bucky.

Steve clenched his fists and tried not to think about Bucky.

"He's got the most powerful piece of tech on Earth on him," he said instead. "Why does he have it and what does he want to do with it? How will I know if I can still trust him?"

Thor didn't even take a second to think about the question. "You will know," he replied.

Steve wished he could believe Thor was right, but Thor had also recently gone on about how amazing and trustworthy Loki had been.

* * *

Steve, Natasha, and Clint were standing next to a buffet table loaded with finger food. The launch party was black tie only, which apparently meant that the only food that could be served had to be cold and come in microscopic portions.

"Nice uniform," Clint remarked before popping half a battered shrimp into his mouth. He washed it down with a glass of champagne.

"Tony said his tailor could take my measurements, but a tux isn't really me," Steve replied.

"What if he doesn't show up?" Clint asked. "I mean, maybe he just sent Pepper that message so that we'd all waste time at this party that we'd otherwise've spent looking for him."

"He'd only do that if he was able to repair the device himself," Natasha said, scanning the room. "Which we know he can't do, otherwise he wouldn't have paid HYDRA's labs a visit."

Clint waved a shrimp in front of her face. "Pepper said she'd let us know when he arrived. Guest list, remember?"

Natasha pushed his hand out of the way. "He won't make use of the guest list. Or if he does, he won't come as 'Harkness'. If he were that easy to catch, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't have called us all together. He just wanted Tony to know that he'd be attending and some kind of confirmation from Tony that he'd received the message."

Her words turned out to be prophetic. After Tony gave the welcoming speech he glanced at Pepper who shook her head. The music was slow and people were starting to dance. One corner of the party, Thor's corner, was getting decidedly drunk. They split up and walked around the room, but still no sign of Jack. Bruce pulled Thor away from the bar and over to where Tony and Clint were chatting with some people who were probably very important. Steve had no idea who any of them were. Natasha appeared next to him and linked her arm through his.

"Quick strategy talk," she suggested.

He nodded in agreement and they went to stand with their team mates.

"Steve," Tony said, "you _have_ to meet Michelle and Barry."

Before he could be properly introduced Bruce and Clint had stepped to one side to allow someone through.

"Mind if I steal him for the next dance?" Jack asked Natasha, a large grin on his face.

Steve tensed up. He stared at Jack's outstretched hand. Everyone's eyes were on him.

Jack lowered his voice. "Steve?"

When Steve looked up to meet the other man's eyes he felt as if all his breath had been knocked right out of him. Jack barely looked a day older than when he'd last seen him. Steve also noted the slightly disheveled look of his tux, as if it had been thrown on in a hurry, the sheen on Jack's brow, and, most importantly, the urgency in his eyes. Without a word he took the offered hand and let Jack lead him onto the dance floor. The music was slow and formal and Jack pulled him right up close.

"I need your help," Jack said, his voice quiet enough so it wouldn't carry.

"That's quite a way to say 'hello'."

"No time, sorry. Don't jump. I'm going to slip you the vortex manipulator. Whatever you do, keep it hidden. Keep it safe for me, you hear that?"

Jack moved his arms in a way that made it seem like it was part of the dance. A moment later Steve felt Jack place a metallic oval device into his hand. He slipped it into his pocket.

"Kiss me," Jack said next.

"Why would I do that? Are you nuts? It's already bad enough that we're dancing. Everyone's staring at us!"

"Because dying hurts, so I don't look forward to it. It would be nice to have something to take my mind off knowing I'm about to take a bullet to the brain."

Steve stopped dancing and looked around urgently. Jack grabbed him and made him continue the dance.

"Don't," Jack hissed. "Oh, one other thing though. Don't let them take my body."

* * *

The assassin had used a silencer. There was no exit wound. Blood was soaking into the silk covering of the sofa on which the body now rested. Steve had carried Jack into a nearby lounge and Bruce had followed him, while Natasha and Clint had gone after the assassin. Tony meanwhile was organizing the evacuation and Steve had sent Thor outside to keep watch.

"Last time I saw Wolverine take an axe to the head, he pulled it out himself and used it on his assailants," Bruce said. "May I take a look?"

Steve stepped back from the sofa to allow Bruce to kneel down next to it.

Bruce checked for a pulse and looked into one of Jack's eyes. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intel may not have been accurate. He might've had superior healing abilities, but he sure wasn't Wolverine. I'm sorry, Steve. He'd definitely dead."

While listening to Bruce's words, he assessed the situation. The room had only two doors, but one of the walls was just window — as was common in many rooms on the top floors of Stark Tower. The assassin or other agents would be coming to search the body for the vortex manipulator. He couldn't let them take Jack's body. "Secure the far door!" he shouted at Bruce as he bolted for the other door.

They chose to come in through the window though. The glass shattered as bullets punched holes into the opposite wall. Steve turned in time to see several fighters jump into the room from a helicopter. There was another almighty crash as Thor's hammer hit said helicopter. Steve saw the agents dash for the body, but they were heavily armed and he didn't have his shield on him. One of them started shooting at him. He kicked over a mahogany table and took cover behind it. He listened out for further gun shots, but heard none.

"Bruce?" he shouted keeping his head down.

"They're gone. I'm sorry."

Steve stood up from behind the table and in that moment Tony rushed into the room.

"What happened here?" Tony asked. "And why're you still Bruce?"

"They didn't shoot at me. I think they knew who I was. It was so quick. They came in, unstrapped a leather wrist band from the body, and then they were off through that door." Bruce said.

"It's HYDRA, I'm sure," Tony said. "Cap, get your shield, I'm going to suit up."

Steve shot a glance at the body. Well, HYDRA hadn't taken it. He turned his back on the scene and followed Tony and Bruce out of the room to go get his shield.

* * *

They'd been able to keep the HYDRA agents from attacking or killing any of the guests, but it had also meant letting the agents slip away. Eventually Tony called out that the Tower had been secured and all of HYDRA's forces driven back. Steve looked down at his hands and uniform. They were covered in blood. Jack's blood. He needed to get it off him. Thor and Clint weren't there yet to debrief, so he snuck off to one of the rest rooms. Immediately he took off his bloody jacket and loosened his tie. Then he set about washing his hands and face.

Jack hadn't let Steve help him. He'd just danced, waiting to be shot.

Steve looked at himself in the mirror. He turned the tap to cold and washed his face again. Jack had lived a long life, he reminded himself. Though he didn't know how Jack had spent the last seventy years.

The vortex manipulator, as Jack had called it, was still in his pocket. He pulled it out and examined it in the light. It definitely looked like a job for Tony. There were some buttons on it, but it was all very technical. He briefly wondered what it would be like to use the device to go back in time to when he'd been frozen. There would be no guarantees that Jack would be around though, seeing as how there were no records of what he'd been up to. And there'd be no Bucky. He clenched his hand into a fist around the vortex manipulator. Bucky.

The door crashed open. It was Tony, still wearing the Iron Man suit.

"Ah, Steve. Okay, good you're here. Pepper said she saw you go in here. Everything okay?"

"Just had to clean up," Steve replied. He opened his fist, revealing the device to Tony. "Jack gave it to me just before he was shot. You remember our conversation yesterday?"

"About giving it to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yeah, I remember."

"I want you to take a look at it first. Before we tell Fury about it."

"Sure thing, Cap," Tony promised. "Everyone's waiting, better tell 'em the news."

Back in the main room Steve debriefed the other Avengers. No one objected to the idea of holding back on the handover of the device to Fury.

Pepper had been standing in a corner, calling people constantly on her cell phone, but now she walked up to them. "Tony," she asked quietly, but Steve could still hear her, "what about the body?"

He could feel a lump forming in his throat and he tried to swallow past it. "Jack asked me to make sure 'they' didn't take it. I assume he meant the HYDRA agents. This was after he'd given me the vortex manipulator."

"Well, he did have those superior healing abilities," Bruce said. "And it didn't look like he aged much, did it? We should probably hand his body over to S.H.I.E.L.D. ."

At that moment they heard footsteps and turned to see Jack Harkness striding towards them.

"I don't normally let people know I can do this," Jack said.

* * *

They'd locked Jack into a makeshift cell after he'd explained his side of the story. Steve had argued that that was unnecessary, but he accepted the majority decision.

"Team," Tony said, as he took off the Iron Man suit, "I don't know about you, but my big problem with his entire explanation about how he's an ex time agent from the 51st century is that there's _literally_ no way we can check that he really is an ex time agent from the 51st century."

"We might be able to see if the rest of his story has any truth in it," Clint offered. "I mean, Natasha and I could go to London and check out the theft part. We could pay U.N.I.T. a visit and find out what they've got to say about the theft of the vortex manipulator from their vault. If it wasn't him that stole it, that'd be a point in his favor."

"Agreed," Natasha replied. "Besides, if U.N.I.T. couldn't keep it secure, what's to say S.H.I.E.L.D. can? They're both experts at finding and then locking away alien artefacts."

"How long will it take you to study the vortex manipulator?" Steve asked Tony. "Cause speaking of S.H.I.E.L.D., we're going to need to keep Fury off our back."

"Ah, leave Fury to me," Tony replied. "And I have no idea how long it will take. I can start right now though." He held out his hand, palm outstretched.

Steve hesitated for a moment. Then he quickly handed the device over to Tony before he could think about it. He found his whole posture relax a bit once Tony pocketed it. Natasha gave him a sidelong look, which he ignored.

"What about Harkness?" Bruce asked. "That's not a real prison cell we've put him in and we can't keep him here like that for any appreciable amount of time."

"I could always build a proper cell. But I think we still have some of those S.H.I.E.L.D. issue electronic handcuffs," Tony replied. "He can leave the cell as long as he's wearing a pair of those and someone's with him. Don't think he should be leaving the tower though, or Fury will find out he's here."

* * *

None of the Avengers had been in Stark Tower when Jarvis had notified Tony of an intruder in his lab.

Tony tried not to wince when he stepped into his lab and saw the safe had been forced open.

"There were two intruders, sir," a security officer was telling Tony. "We apprehended one of them as they tried to leave the building."

"Where's the vortex manipulator?" Bruce asked once Tony had dismissed the security officer. "The safe is empty and Jack Harkness is also gone."

"He's missing?" Steve jumped up out of the chair he'd been sitting in.

Tony held up a hand. "No, Jarvis says he's in the building."

"And the vortex manipulator?" Bruce pressed.

At that moment Jack announced himself at the entrance to Tony's lab. His arms were folded across his chest and his expression was stern. Steve also couldn't help noticing the blood stains and burn marks on his clothes.

"I've got it," he replied. "Catch!"

Tony caught it and examined it straight away. "Thanks," he said, when he'd assured himself that it was the genuine article. "Didn't I leave you handcuffed?"

"I broke some bones in my hands. Your cell isn't very secure either, just thought I'd let you know. Good thing too, since the two HYDRA agents had gotten into your safe by the time I arrived here. I was just in time to fight them off — without being able to use my hands properly, I might add. Got the vortex manipulator eventually."

Steve shot Tony a Look with a capital L and then he grabbed Jack's arm.

"Oh, where're we going?" Jack asked.

"Gettin' you cleaned up."

Checking up on Jack had required time and energy and Steve had refused to let Tony task one of his security officers with that job and so Steve had ended up moving into Stark Tower. He took Jack to his room, left him in the bathroom, and then went to rummage in his drawers to pick out some clothes for him. Obviously there were clothes down by the cell that would fit Jack, but it didn't really matter if they were his exact size, he thought.

The sound of running water stopped and Jack came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a small towel.

"Nice room Stark's given you," he commented.

"Here's some clothes," Steve said, hoping Jack would take the hint and put them on quickly. Jack sat down on the edge of his bed and leisurely started getting dressed.

"Now what? Back to the cell?" Jack asked.

Steve shook his head. "No point. You could break out of any cell we put you in, couldn't you?"

Jack grinned. "You bet I could. Don't worry though, I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah, I know," Steve replied softly. "I should probably help Tony clear up. If you need anything you can just ask Jarvis."

Turned out Tony had little robots and a team of technicians to help him put his lab right again. When Tony had finished giving them instructions Steve dragged him to one side. Bruce joined them.

"You're not putting Jack back in that cell," Steve stated.

"Where's he now then?" Tony replied. "Although you're right," he continued, before Steve could answer, "he proved he can break out of it easily enough. I suppose I could engineer something better—"

"He's not going back in any cell. Tony, we've got to repair his time machine so he can go back to his own time."

"You know, I thought you might end up taking this a little too personally."

"Gentlemen," Bruce intervened. He turned to Tony. "Cap is right. Natasha and Clint haven't found anything to suggest that he was the one to take his vortex manipulator out of U.N.I.T.'s vault. In fact, they confirmed that he's the one who gave it to them for safekeeping in the first place."

"Fine. Whatever. We'll talk about this later."

"I'll order some pizza," Bruce volunteered.

* * *

Jack had put his feet up on Tony's coffee table and had gladly accepted a bottle of beer from Steve. Thor had decided to visit Jane in London, which is also where Natasha and Clint currently were, since they were investigating the theft of the vortex manipulator from U.N.I.T.'s vaults.

"Pizza's here!" Bruce said as he stepped out of the elevator and placed it on the coffee table. They all took a slice and sat down around the small table.

"Do they have pizza in the 51st century?" Tony asked.

Jack laughed, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "We do actually, but the toppings are a bit different. And the base. But, uh, our pizza otherwise _looks_ pretty similar. The best pizzerias in the solar system are all on Mars of course."

"Don't," Steve said.

"What's wrong now?" Tony asked.

But Steve turned to Jack. "I can tell you don't want to talk about home. You're forcing this to get Tony to like you."

Jack tipped his head to one side. He punched Steve's shoulder gently, a small smile on his lips. "Man out of time. No fooling you."

Tony chose the movie. In it two men needed to get married because of a life insurance policy so they were pretending to be queer. Steve thought Tony might have picked it to get some kind of revenge on him, because it was one of the worse films he'd watched while enjoying Tony's hospitality. Bruce's idea of coping was to get more beers. That wasn't an option for Steve, but in the end, he had to admit that there were a fair few things he liked about the film, even if there were also some downright appalling moments.

"Don't tell me you're actually enjoying this movie, Cap?" Tony wailed.

"You chose it!" he replied, grinning. "It's not my fault you have a good taste in movies."

"Bruce, have you got anything stronger than beer?" Jack asked. "Pure ethanol might do the trick."

At the end of the night Tony showed Jack to a guestroom across the corridor from Steve.

"This way you can annoy Cap if you need anything, I'm off to bed," Tony announced.

Jack thanked him and entered his room. He didn't bother Steve for anything during the night, nor the next morning.

Bruce and Jack were frying eggs when Steve entered the kitchen after his morning jog.

"Sleep well?" he greeted them both.

Tony stumbled in at that moment, too, stifling a yawn. "Any chance of coffee?"

"When you said you were going to bed last night, you actually meant to say 'lab'?" Steve queried, though he went to pour Tony some coffee.

"Give me another day and I'll have your vortex manipulator working again," Tony said, staring at Jack. "And then I'm going to have to go on a massive alcohol-fueled drug binge to wipe my memory of how that thing works, or I swear to God this knowledge will be the death of me."

Jack cracked another egg into the pan. "Sounds like a good idea."

"You mean you could build another one with what you learned?" Bruce said, sitting down opposite Tony, his tone serious.

"Oh, hell no!" Tony replied. "There's still a lot about that thing I don't understand, but what I understand is more than _enough_."

Steve let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He passed Tony his coffee.

* * *

Natasha and Clint returned that afternoon and kept Jack company. Well, in reality, they were assessing him, the way Tony and Bruce had the previous evening. But it seemed what they'd discovered in England and Wales had convinced them that Jack wasn't a danger. Steve observed the three of them watching TV while he chopped vegetables in the kitchen. They were watching a spy drama and having fun criticizing every second of it. Steve had decided to cook a stew for dinner for everyone, before they ended up having takeout yet again.

Jack jumped up from his seat on the sofa and bounded up to him with a wide smile on his face.

"This is definitely more fun that being stuck in that dull cell," he said, reaching into the fridge for some beers.

Steve didn't look up from the vegetables he was cutting. "You survived somehow," he stated.

Jack went to stand next to him and dropped his voice. "Is that what this is all about? You're upset I didn't tell you all my secrets?"

"I'm not upset," Steve muttered, but Jack just laughed.

* * *

"I'm glad you all decided to trust me," Jack said in Tony's lab, the whole team (minus Thor) standing around him. "And thank you for covering for me. I know S.H.I.E.L.D. are going to give you hell for this. Pass my thanks onto Thor too."

"It was our pleasure," Bruce said.

Jack said his goodbyes to Bruce, Clint, and Natasha before standing in front of Tony.

"You did an amazing job. No one in the 51st century will ever believe me if I tell them a 21st century mechanic fixed a broken time vortex manipulator. Make sure the time agency doesn't recruit you into their development team. No, seriously, don't say 'yes' if they approach you." He leant forward and kissed Tony's forehead.

Tony's eyebrows shot up, but he was barely managing to suppress a huge grin.

Last of all Jack stepped up to Steve. "It was good to see you again," he said and held out a hand.

Steve shook it, trying to remain outwardly calm. On the inside he was a jittery mess. Why hadn't he acted? Why had he stayed away from Jack? This was actually the last time he was ever going to see him. The moment was here and his throat was tight.

"Oh, come on, this is ridiculous," Jack said with a small laugh and yanked Steve toward him. He reached behind Steve's head with his free hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Steve heard at least one gasp from his team members, but he didn't look around. Then Jack had let go of his hand and neck, but he was still kissing him.

He heard Tony cry out "Cap!" but the lab disappeared. He was at the bottom of an icy gorge.

"One of the bonuses of being a former time agent," Jack said, his breath steamy in the cold air, "is that I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of history." He held onto Steve's shoulders tightly with both hands. "And I know that Bucky doesn't have to die here."

Steve looked around. There was a steep cliff face to one side and above... a railway bridge. They were in Switzerland.

He pushed himself out of Jack's grip. "What do you mean? Why've you brought me here?" he shouted, the sound echoing in the gorge.

"I can take you back to Stark Tower right now, or you can save Bucky's life before I take you back — and I will be taking you back, you can't stay here."

"I don't understand." Steve closed his eyes and tried to keep his voice steady. He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his palms. "Isn't this changing history?"

"Sometimes I find out someone has died who didn't die in the history books I read. Those are things... that can be fixed. Or they can be left as they are. Sometimes different pasts can converge toward the same future."

In two strides Steve was up close to Jack again, invading his personal space. "You mean it doesn't matter whether Bucky lives or dies?"

Jack didn't move an inch. "I didn't say that. It matters, of course. And if you save his life it will have consequences. Consequences you will then have to live with," he replied in a tone of voice that left little doubt about how serious he was. "But in the grand scheme of history? If Bucky dies here then someone else will take his place."

"They teach you all that at the time agent academy?" Steve spat.

"Actually no. They aren't quite that philosophical. But I found myself a better teacher."

"I want to save Bucky," Steve said curtly.

"Do it," Jack said.

Steve looked up at the railway bridge. "The train isn't here yet."

"We missed the train."

"What?" Steve stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly. "We missed it? But then Bucky's already fallen..." He dashed away from Jack and leaped over boulders and scaled icy outcrops until he found his friend's body. Snow was already starting to cover it. Instinctively Steve's hand moved as if to touch a watch in his jacket pocket — a watch he no longer had.

He swept the snow aside and assessed Bucky's state. One of Bucky's arms had been torn off just above his elbow. Steve's breath caught in this throat and he froze mid-movement. The blood was slowly staining the snow around Bucky red, but he saw it was coming out in pulses. When he saw Bucky's chest was also moving he choked back tears. He wasted no time to tend to the arm, tearing his own shirt to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

He heard Jack's soft footsteps in the snow behind him.

"How did he survive?" Steve said in a tight voice. "This fall should've killed him! And then there's the cold..."

"Would it've killed you?" Jack asked nonchalantly. "But just like you, he's not actually immortal. If you hadn't stemmed the blood loss he'd have died."

Steve turned to face him. "What is _wrong_ with you? Does that vortex manipulator suck all emotions out of you or something? Get down on your knees and help me!"

For a moment Steve thought Jack might transport himself somewhere else with vortex manipulator, leaving him alone in the icy gorge with Bucky — and his heart skipped a beat to think that he might get to stay in 1945 — but then Jack crouched down next to him and helped him bandage Bucky's arm as best as they could.

Steve was aware that it wasn't good to move someone in Bucky's state, but the snow was coming in fast. Together they carried him to a large farm house Jack directed them to, less than a mile away. There was smoke coming from the chimney.

"The owners are out right now, but they'll be back very soon," Jack said.

"How do you know all this?" Steve asked, catching his breath after laying Bucky down on the large kitchen table inside the house.

"I did my homework."

"You planned this?"

"Of course," Jack replied, his expression turned stern. "Now we have to go."

Steve shook his head and took a step back from Jack. "No. I need to know that Bucky's going to be all right. How do you know the people here will take care of Bucky? What if they're Nazi sympathizers? They might hand him over to the Germans!"

"They won't. And you can't stay longer. This is all you can do."

Steve didn't move.

Jack looked directly at him. "That's the problem with being a time agent. Imagine you had the ability to stop Hitler rising to power. But you knew you shouldn't."

Steve ignored Jack. He looked around the room until he spotted a blanket near the hearth which he gently laid over Bucky. Then he pulled a chair up to the table, sat down in it, and took Bucky's hand in his.

"I'm not goin' anywhere."

Jack put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "You're not a doctor. There's nothing more you can do for him now."

"You're saying the farmers here're doctors?"

"This country isn't at war. They've got a village doctor. Who has a car. And there's a small hospital in the next town."

"I'll stay to help," Steve insisted.

Jack pointed out the door. "Right now you're on a train. You can't also be in a Swiss village at the same time. The owners return in five minutes. Meet me outside in two."

Steve turned his eyes back on Bucky. He heard the door creak open and close again with a thud. Bucky's face had already regained some of its color and the rise and fall of his chest was steady. He squeezed his friend's hand tightly and a tear slid down his cheek. By the time Bucky recovered Steve would have brought the plane down into the ice. They'd never see each other again. But it would be the end of the war and Bucky would be able to lead a long, peaceful life back in Brooklyn.

When he joined Jack outside the house he clenched his jaw. "I don't know how you did it, if I'm honest. I don't know how you do it now — you've got all that power to change events..."

"The time agency selects us carefully. If you're not the kind of person who'll gun down a couple of innocent civilians in order to save thousands, then you won't be selected. Because that's the attitude you need to have."

"Is that why you left?"

Jack chuckled, but there was no humor in his laugh. The hairs on Steve's neck stood on end.

"Come, let's get you back," Jack said. He held onto Steve as he operated the vortex manipulator.

"So we're going back to the future?" Steve asked, his voice quiet.

"Yes. I know you won't believe me when I tell you this, but it's where you belong. Hold on tight."

When they materialized in Tony's lab the other Avengers weren't there.

Steve let go of Jack and sagged into the nearest chair. "You're going to go back home to the 51st century now?"

Jack took a seat next to him. "I was twenty three when I joined the time agency. After that I never saw the 51st century again. 1869, that's the year I got stuck in. Where's 'home' now?"

Steve's mouth was open. "You're... almost two hundred years old?"

"I've been breathing and walking for that long, yes," Jack replied. "I spent a further two hundred buried underground."

At that Steve raised his eyebrows and leant back slightly in his chair. "Wow, I don't know what to say."

"It's not all good, being unable to die," Jack said softly. "So, yeah," he continued, his voice clearer again, "The time agency owes me two years' worth of memories. Woke up one day and they were gone. That's why I left. Who knows what else they're guilty of? That's my main concern. Someone needs to keep an eye on an agency with that much power."

"I know this is gonna make me sound like Thor, but that sounds like a noble cause." Steve stood up and gave him a salute. "Captain!"

Jack grinned in reply.

"And thank you," Steve said quietly, "for giving me the opportunity to save Bucky's life."

Jack stood up too and nodded curtly. Then Steve closed the gap between them and kissed him one last time. "Goodbye," he whispered.

Jack took a step back and tapped the device he'd strapped to his wrist and then he was gone.

"Jarvis? Where're the others?"

"They are in the conference room. Although Mr. Stark is on his way here right now, as I alerted him to your return."

"Ah right, thanks!"

Tony hurried into the lab at that moment. "Where's your lover-boy now?"

"In the future, I think," Steve replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"And where were you?"

"I was back in 1945... saving a life."

Tony shook his head, his eyes wide. "You didn't. No."

Steve studied the lab's ceiling tiles. "Jack said that history would converge or something, whether Bucky lived or died wouldn't change world history."

Tony knitted his brows. "If you saved Bucky then why do I still remember learning that he died?" He strode over to a computer station. "Jarvis, display information on James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes."

"Killed in action, 5th of May 1945," Steve read out loud from the screen, the disbelief thick in his voice. "No, that can't be right!"

"Wait," Tony said. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got a whole folder here full of eyewitness reports. Twelve alleged sightings of him. I can't access the files in the folder without tipping S.H.I.E.L.D. off that I've hacked their systems, but maybe you could request that file from Fury. You know, after he forgives us for letting Jack Harkness go."

"Is there anything else?" Steve asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

"No, that's the only thing I can find," Tony replied.

Steve nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything else.

"You know, maybe we shouldn't mention your trip into the past to S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony said, hand placed at his back. Steve was still staring at the text on the screen though and as he watched the number of files in the folder updated itself to thirteen.

The End


End file.
